


A new trail

by RoguePhiores



Category: Bleach, Naruto
Genre: A LOT OF DIALOGUE, Angst, Crossover, FemNaruto - Freeform, Female Uzumaki Naruto, Gen, Humor, Naruko - Freeform, Reincarnation, a lot of throwbacks, adoptive father, an attempt, at least, bless ichigo and Naruto, fem naruto, focusing a lot on friendship, gone into new world, maybe romance maybe not idek, naruto in bleach world, she has been through war
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-25
Updated: 2017-02-25
Packaged: 2018-09-26 22:10:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9924155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoguePhiores/pseuds/RoguePhiores
Summary: Drawing her last breath, peace should have finally been upon her. She was satisfied with her end and didn't mind meeting the afterlife- if there even was anything there. However, she will not go to her afterlife- yet. She will get there too, just not dead.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Finally, a sign of me living.
> 
> Disclaimer: I own neither Bleach nor Naruto

She hadn't always wanted to be a ninja.

When she was younger, she was completely oblivious to the presence of shinobi in contrast to her peers. Even the cilivan children had at least heard of it from their parents, seen some boasting, fresh genins, or read about it. But she was completely oblivious.

You couldn't blame her, however. It was a once in a month time occurrence for her to even be allowed to leave her room in the orphanage, and that was simply because of the Hokage's monthly visits to her, still trying to be some sort of guardian even though she had the status of an orphan.

One time, the Hokage had come unexpectedly. Unknowingly to her, she was five by then. The matron didn't have time to prepare for the visit of the _Professor,_ leaving Naruto unbathed, not well-fed and in rags. For bystanders it would've been a rather funny to see the matron pale so quickly when she saw the leader of the village.

However, said leader was everything but amused when he saw Naruto's state. The girl was surprised to see him, only used to seeing him on the days where she was treated incredible- they were also her favorite days, and she always looked forward to them. The poor child didn't know that being clothed, bathed and fed were the bare minimum requirements. She didn't know that all the other children had far more frequent baths, more food, and love- something she never got from anyone, except for here surrogate grandfather.

Everything went by too fast for Naruto after that. Suddenly, she wouldn't live in the orphanage anymore, she had her own home, her own money, she could go outside whenever she wanted- she had control.

She never saw the matron after that. To this day, she still doesn't know that her _dear_ grandfather had given her a rather special... experience in the form of an intimidating, buff man: Ibiki.

It was inevitable that she got told about the ninja's and that Konoha was a Hidden village. When she had given him a curious look when the subject ninja was brought up, he had thought that maybe she wanted to become a ninja. Naruto still remembers the conversation.

''Naruto-chan, are you maybe interested in becoming a ninja?'' he had asked her friendly, already his thoughts getting too far ahead of himself, thinking that _of course she would want to be a ninja, look at her parents._

She had cocked her head to the side and blinked. ''What's a ninja?''

Hiruzen had tensed and he had looked as if someone had ripped open a wound, thrown salt over it and then rubbed some ice on the freshly opened wound. The realisation came crashing down on him, the education she got in the orphanage had been nonexistent, it seemed. He knew she had it bad, having picked up some clues before- but this was the next level. Someone not knowing that a ninja village had ninja's, while living in one?

It had to be unheard of.

Guilt clenched his heart and he had to hold back the urge to pinch his nose and sigh- Naruto wouldn't react well to any kind of negative emotion, even if it wasn't directed at her. That thought made him almost wince. He was partly to blame, since he put her in the hands of that cruel, vindictive woman.

''Well, Naruto-chan, a ninja is...''

He had explained in great detail what a ninja is. He had even gone over the risks, the Hidden villages and the Academy, to name some subjects.

When he was finished, the only thing she had said was, ''No.''

His eyebrow rose, not quite understanding her. ''What do you mean, Naruto-chan?''

''I'm not interested in becoming a ninja,'' she responded simply, referring to Hiruzen's first question. He put his chin on top of his hands and hummed, a thoughtful had crossed his face. That was definitely not the reaction he expected. ''Why are you not interested in becoming a ninja. Naruto-chan?''

Now, it was her turn to hum, even though she already had her answer ready. ''Ninja's are supposed to protect the village, right? They can die for the village. I don't want that. Not for this village,'' her finger twitched, ''I want a normal life.''

''I don't want to die.''

That was a valid concern and reason, but it was rather frightening that a five-year-old thought like that. Most children at her age would be ecstatic to become a shinobi, and later, when they were of age at 8, they would back out. Some held on longer and were in the Academy for a year, and then dropped out. But then they were 9, and most of the time their reasoning was that they simply didn't like the Academy.

Naruto had a certain type of maturity and sense of survival she shouldn't possess at her age.

 _She would make a perfect shinobi,_ had crossed his mind, but he quickly suppressed it. He smiled at her, hoping to relieve the tension that had appeared because he had been quiet for far too long.

''You don't have to, not when I can do something about it.''

It was rather ironic, Hiruzen had wanted to calm her down with that- he wanted to let her know he accepted her decision. He would never know that that particular sentence made her want to be a ninja.

A couple months later, she had finally gotten used to living in her own apartment and being in control of herself. Her surrogate grandfather tried to come by as much as possible, but he caught up with his job a lot, which she understood.

Always so mature, so understanding.

They had gotten a lot closer, Naruto even referred to him as Jiji, something that warmed his heart. The brilliant smiles she gave him, quickly made him forget all his other worries, like snow before the sun. He had affectionally dubbed her _Sunshine._ She had also met Konohamaru, who she quickly warmed up to and saw as a younger brother.

Unfortunately, all good things end.

It was her sixth birthday. The naturally calm girl was jumping up and down from excitement, she was sure her grandfather would come by, it was her birthday! A giggle left her lips as she thought about what they could do on her birthday, already many plans forming in her head. She was unsure of which she would perform, but she was sure about one thing: baking a cake.

Which ended up in a dilemma, she didn't have enough chocolate, and needed some, fast. However, it was already dark outside. It didn't help that the day of her birthday, was also the day of the Kyuubi festival. She had never gone to a festival, but Jiji had warned her against going out on her birthday.

But, _I really need that chocolate..._

Jiji would forgive her if she did go outside, she was sure of that, but he had warned her for a reason. He had said it was dangerous, and he didn't tend to exaggerate. He could be overprotective, but with valid reason.

She frowned. To go, or not to go.

Something inside of her screamed not to go. Her instincts were going crazy, _no no no no don't!_

However, having lived in comfortable, good circumstances had made her instincts less vital to her. She hadn't been in danger since she had left the orphanage, and it showed. After a couple minutes, she discarded what her gut was yelling at her, grabbed her coat, keys and money, and left.

The first thing she noticed where the charming lights she saw from the outside from her apartment, looking over the village. It was gorgeous. A small, pleased smile lit her face up and that completely squashed any reign her instincts had.

The last thing she would feel that night is regret.

The last thing she would remember that night is pain.

The last thing she would see that night is blood.

No, that was a lie. The last thing she saw, was her life flashing in front of her eyes.

White, blinding light was what she woke up to. Everything had happened in a haze, and the memories of the attack hadn't immediately come to her. The last thing she saw before she was met by darkness again, was silver hair.

It had continued like that for two times, that she had woken up, seen things through a haze, and then went back to sleep. The fourth time she woke up, the Hokage was also next to her, holding her hand.

''J-jiji?'' she croaked out, twitching her finger.

He smiled softly, but it didn't meet his eyes. He nodded sharply to the silver-haired man sitting next to him. The man left and gave her Jiji and her some time.

''Do you remember what happened, dear?'' he murmured softly, rubbing soothing circles with his calloused thumb on her hand. His face steeled when he saw her dart her eyes around worriedly, looking for a threat when the memories came to her. He thought that was a habit she had finally grown out of when she had left her former ''home''.

His other hand twitched. When the people who did this to her were caught, he will personally have a nice, pleasant talk with them, before handing them over Ibiki and Anko.

A small nod was all he got. Her face was stricken with pain. He sincerely didn't want to ask her anymore, but it was necessary, also for her.

''Can you tell me, sweetie?''

After pausing, she did, even while stuttering and sometimes completely stopping mid-sentence. He carefully and patiently kept listening to her, making notes mentally of everything. After some time, he noticed she slowed down and her eyes were drooping. An exhausted sigh slipped out his lips when the girl he saw as a granddaughter, fell asleep.

She would be traumatised, he knew that for sure. This would also definitely not help her animosity against the village. He couldn't blame her, honestly. He was almost beginning to hate the village.

You could imagine his surprise when the next day, he walked in and saw her already awake, holding a book in her small, dainty hands.

''Hello, Naruto-chan. Slept well?''

She placed the book down on her upper legs and nodded with a smile. He withheld his surprise, he hadn't expected her to openly smile again. It had taken months for him to accomplish that after getting her out of the orphanage. He sat down one of the plastic chairs next to the bed.

''Jiji,'' she began, lifting her eyes up to meet his, ''I want to become a shinobi.''

There was a fire, one that reminded him so much of her parents.

_Of course she would want to be a ninja, look at her parents._

''Why the change of heart, Sunshine?'' he asked softly.

There was a slight pause. ''Because I want to get stronger.''

He nodded, he could've expected that after the incident. ''You don't have to be a shinobi for that-''

''-And I want to be able to protect.''

And, protect, she will.

Hiruzen didn't know that a certain speech of a certain silver-haired shinobi, that took place minutes before he arrived, had changed her mind. Now he looked at the cover of the book, he could see that it was about ninja's.

Years flew by. She had grown so much. Naruto was now a lot taller and was well known around the Elemental Nations because of her skills. People interested in pursuing flocked to her, and she discovered she had an aptitude for leading, which she did. Very well. Everyone was so sure she would become Hokage after the war.

If she survived, of course.

Sadly, Sarutobi wasn't there to see any of it.

That was the life of shinobi. Kill, or get killed.

She had always been the person who killed. She was the predator. She was stronger. She was not as weak as when she was six anymore. Her life was a lot more gruesome now, and there wasn't a sense of false security cloaking her from the world.

However, our golden blonde ninja wouldn't change it for the world. She had changed so much, for the better. She had wanted to protect, and she did. She became a shinobi for a reason. She wanted to get stronger and protect who were important to her. The beginning number had been small, but eventually had covered the whole village. Something she would've never expected she would do in her younger years.

What she also didn't expect was to die for her village, but again, here she was.

Exhaustion had already been dragging her down, but when her killer performed his final attack, when he also took his last breath, she was done for. There was no regret. No flashing life for her eyes. There was pain and blood, an incredibly amount- but she had become used to that. She didn't mind dying with her comrades for her village.

And so, Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto, drew her last breath.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> fluffish

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto nor Bleach.

''No _fucking_ way.''

He frowned disappointedly at her language but didn't bother to point it out like her normally would do, which also wasn't a regular occurrence. His daughter never swore, only when she was furious.

And furious she was.

A sigh escaped him. ''Naruto, I've already signed all te papers. We will even be leaving this weekend. Don't kick up such a fuss, it has no use,'' he explained rationally. He got long used to Naruto's temper tantrums- even though the didn't occur often. She had always been rather understanding, actually. She, however, didn't seem to stop- or want to stop- anytime soon now.

''Well, _fuck_ you, _fuck_ your papers, _fuck_ this!-''

''Akiyama Naruto,'' he cut off icily, a tone he only reserved for when Naruto went too far, ''I will not tolerate this behaviour. We will be leaving this weekend, pack your bags. You still have a couple days to say good-bye to everyone. Use your time wisely instead of arguing, which will not result in any changes,'' he ended snidely.

She promptly shut up, but shot him an icy glare, turned and went up to her room, her footsteps light. Honestly, if he hadn't been used to her, he wouldn't have known she went up. It had always confused him how light on her feet Naruto was.

He rubbed his forehead and sat down tiredly. He really didn't want to use that tone with Naruto- she was becoming older, too, it would simply be patronising in a couple years to try that tone with her. She was becoming an adult.

_An adult._

He could still clearly remember her shivering, huddled in a corner, sound asleep. That day had completely changed his whole life, it was hard to forget. He had simply wanted to throw some trash away- it was in a rather sketchy alley, though- but ended finding a child.

When she had woken up in a warm bed, well-clothed and showered, she had screamed at his face- something he had expected, but it wasn't very pleasant. He could even remember her furious and chubby face yelling, crying, barely choking out sensible words. '' _Everyone is dead, dead, dead-''_ was the only part he had understood, before she became an emotional mess. She had looked so _broken,_ so _hurt._ Tarou hadn't wanted to ask her about her past, not wanting to push it for years, wanting her to confide herself. Which she had done, it had eased his heart, knowing a bit more about her.

However, the look on her face when he had told her that they were moving because of his job to Karakura town, had clenched his heart in the worst way imaginable and he felt so disgusted with himself.

Akiyama Tarou winced slightly. Even while he had noticed the expression, he had still gone and used that tone of his. She had honestly not deserved it- his dear daughter was close to crying, which she never did.

Naruto was always so calm, she was a great child. However, when she did get upset- shit hit the fan.

His heart tightened, which seemed to physically hurt him. He needed to apologise. The determined father went up, with the best intentions in mind.

After he got no answer while knocking on her door, he simply opened the door, pleasantly surprised that the door wasn't locked. He had read somewhere on those vague websites about parenting that teenagers would want their own time and would lock the door. Tarou had immediately frowned, already not liking the prospect of puberty- even when Naruto had been far from a teenager then.

It had always pleasantly surprised him that Naruto was never like those websites and books described teenagers to be. _Maybe they were just lying, though?_ He had wondered. But, when his coworkers had been whining about their ''insufferable'' teenagers, who were just ''lazy'' and never listened, he discovered he had been blessed with someone as docile and mature as Naruto. When he had told them his daughter was rather normal. they simply arched their brows and gave him incredulous looks, muttering something about, ''Tarou who always wants to one-up _everyone.''_

He had ignored it.

But now, he had hoped he had actually learned something from all those damn books he had read. They never told him how to act with your extremely upset daughter, which never was upset, crying on her bad while it was completely his damn fault.

It was a rather specific situation, but still!

''Naruto,'' he began, making his presence known, even when she, of course, knew he was there- she always knew, ''I'm sorry.''

She stiffened but continued to cry.

He stifled the sigh that threatened to escape and moved to her bed, where she had thrown herself on, pushing her face into the pillows which had tear streaks all over them. He stilled next to her and crouched down.

The dark haired man knew no words could help her now, and that she just wanted to cry, even though he felt incredibly uncomfortable while she cried. He almost forgot she could. Even while he knew she loved him greatly, he wasn't sure if she would cry at his funeral.

And for once, his parental instincts kicked in, and he hugged her. Again, she stiffened, but then she relaxed in his arms, even moving to the warmth. Her face had moved from the wet pillows to the crook of his neck, her cries being muffled by his shoulder.

After some time, he hadn't known how long being consumed by his thoughts, the cries had died down. She was probably utterly exhausted and her tears were simply up. She moved her face so that what she wanted to say wouldn't be muffled anymore.

A pause followed.

''Why did you react so emotional?'' He internally winced, those parental instincts only seem to kick in once a lifetime. That had sounded far too harsh. She didn't reply and just tightened her arms around him.

''You'll never leave me, right, dad?'' she whispered coarsely, throat burning because of her cries a couple minutes before.

He hadn't known where it came from, but he just tightened his arms around him in a similar fashion as her, and replied, ''I would never.''

''I just- I just don't want to lose everyone again. I want to live with all my friends. I don't- don't want _that_ to happen again,'' she chortled out, midway almost crying again. He immediately understood what she was referring to, it was something about her past what she had told him about- only the headlines, though. He was okay with that, it looked like she was hurting far too much to continue talking.

His hands moved to her hair and gently massaged her scalp in a way to calm her. ''I get that, Naruto, but you'll be able to have contact with them. Karakura isn't that far away from Tokyo, dear. You'll be able to visit them with the train, alone. And they'll be able to visit you.''

''But, we will talk less, and maybe they'll forget me a-and- I don't-''

He almost rolled his eyes. ''They love you, don't worry about that, Naruto. You'll not be forgotten,'' he spoke with such certainty, most immediately would be convinced.

Our blonde protagonist wasn't swayed from her initial views, though.

''It has happened with Kazue, too! Almost no one talks to her anymore, except for the occasional message with me.'' He hummed in answer.

Taking a different direction with his arguments he replied, ''Okay, what if they actually _forgot_ about you- god knows how- what would that make them? Pretty dick-ish, right? You wouldn't want to be associated and liked by people like them anyway.''

She frowned, even if he couldn't see it. Taking her head from his neck, she glared at him with red-rimmed eyes.

''I still don't like that you didn't consult me before, though.''

Letting his arms fall from her scalp, he allowed a sheepish smile to play on his face. ''Yeah, that was pretty rude.''

''Rude?! God, dad- and you swore! Why can you swear while I can't?''

He laughed lightly, feeling the tension slightly dissolve. ''Because I'm your parent. And let's be real- it was needed. It would be dick-ish.''

Her glare hardened. ''That's bullshit.''

''Naruto!''

The grin on his face, which he also only reserved for her, contrasted the tone of his voice.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please show me your thoughts!


	3. Chapter 3

''Tomorrow is your first day, right?''

Chewing on her potatoes, she threw him an exhausted look, showing her excitement for the upcoming day. He snorted. ''If looks could kill.''

Gulping down her dinner, she threw him a small glare. ''That would have been nice.''

He hissed, as if in pain. ''Temper! You're nervous, aren't you?'' Naruto didn't reply, choosing to roll her eyes. ''A bit of respect would be preferred.''

''Yeah, okay, sorry dad,'' she placed her cutlery next to her plate, ''you hit the spot, I'm nervous. Incredibly so, even. There's a big chance I won't fit in since I'm coming mid-way in the year, thanks to a certain someone,'' a guilty look crosses the cause' face, ''and I need to catch up with the rest, something I'm not looking forward to.''

''I can get behind the first thing. The second, really? You're a smart kid and put effort in your studies, you'll be alright, for sure.''

''That's true, but I still don't really look forward to it,'' she replied stubbornly. ''The first thing still stands.''

He reclined in his seat. ''Is this my cue to give a great parent pep-talk?'' Naruto snorted. ''You know I suck at being a parent- it got me wondering why SK hasn't knocked on my door yet. But,'' he took a deep breath, ''you'll be alright. I know you'll be. You fit in really well in social situations and I'm sure that people will want to welcome a new person. And new persons are always the hot new thang.''

''Hot new _thang_?''

''Sometimes I forget I'm not twenty anymore.''

''You're the worst at giving pep-talks. I'm calling SK.''

Tarou frowns. ''Eat your damn food, Naruto.''

''Ooh, he is offended! To be fair, it began well. Just the _thang..''_ she trailed off, shaking her head. ''Won't do, dad. Won't do.''

''Eat your food!''

* * *

''Akiyama Naruto, nice to meet you,'' she introduced herself to the class, the name leaving a weird aftertaste in her mouth. Saying Akiyama still felt weird. She was used to it, but it didn't feel _right._ It was dead silent. The blonde was fighting the urge to fidget.

An average looking boy in the back who wore his uniform incorrectly, probably a troublemaker, broke the silence, ''Is that your natural hair colour?''

Naruto looked incredulously at him. ''Yes?'' she replied, even if she didn't even seem sure anymore, startled by the rather sudden and rude question. People on the streets looked at her weird because of her looks, but nobody outright asked her if her hair colour was natural before.

The teacher didn't seem to care too much. ''If there are no other questions, sit next to Kurosaki Ichigo. Kurosaki, raise your hand,'' he ordered lazily.

He reminded her of Kakashi. The drawl, the posture, his voice, the laziness, him being a teacher.

She internally winced. The ride of living, _again,_ was a painful one. You would see mannerism of people you know you'll never see again. You think you'll get over it, or at least get used to it. But then someone reminds you so much of someone in your former life, you want to huddle up in a corner and cry your tears out.

She nodded at Kurosaki, not bothering to smile.

''You should ignore Asano, he asked me the same when we met,'' he rolled his eyes and looked at her in the corner of his eyes, ''he is a dumbass.''

She just then noticed his hair colour. A rather bright orange. A colour she immediately recognised.

_Nagato._

''He seems to be the type to do that,'' Kurosaki snorted, ''but it's nice to meet you, my bright-haired comrade.''

He instinctively glanced at my hair, but immediately looked me into the eyes again.

''It's nice to meet you too.''

She smiled widely, he replied with a twitch of the lips.

In almost every class she sat next to someone else. Her day seemed to be going well- she already got accepted in the girl group of her homeroom class and she seemed to actually be enjoying herself.

However, her luck ended when science rolled around.

''I want you to partner up- a girl with a boy, no same-sex pairs. Before you do that, you need to know that you won't just perform the experiment, but also make a well-constructed report about this at home. You'll get this hour for the experiment, but will need to make the report at home.''

The teacher saw a hand shoot up in the back of the classroom. ''Yes, it will be graded.'' The arm immediately shot down, and the owner of the limb smiled sheepishly.

''There is a sheet on your table explaining everything step by step and with all the necessary equipment. Good luck.''

She was literally thrown to the wolves! This was her first day, nobody would want to partner up with her. Even less a guy! She had become friends with some girls but hadn't really had time to get acquainted with guys.

Suddenly, a memory popped up of her conversation with Kurosaki in the morning. A frown crossed her face. During the lesson, she made jokes here and there, and he had laughed, as much as he could,- even quipping himself from time to time.

The blonde glanced around the room and immediately found the male- the hair was hard to miss in a mostly dark-haired classroom.

Slipping through the crowd, she wondered if this was a good idea.

_He is literally my only option._

''Kurosaki-san, would you mind partnering up with me for this project?''

He arched a careless brow. But she stood defiantly.

''Are you any good with science?''

The girl couldn't help but snort. She was worrying about how he maybe wouldn't want to partner up and she would end up being alone or with some creep. His only standard was someone who wasn't mediocre in science, though.

''Yeah, don't worry 'bout that.''

''Sure, but I suck at it, so you gotta make sure we even get a C.''

Crossing her arms, she replied, ''Ah, nevermind, I'll find someone else.'' He looked at her questioningly from the corner from his eye. After a couple seconds, she couldn't help but laugh.

''Kidding! Come on, let's start with this. I at least want an A.''

'' _At least?_ There isn't anything higher!'' he shouted, flabbergasted.

Naruto just smiled.

Later, both teenagers agreed to finish the project immediately at home the same day, they both just wanted to get it over with and Naruto refused to prolong it, muttering something about how that will result in doing it the day before, saying that maybe it would take too much time to finish it the day before. Ichigo could see the logic in that, but that was his normal way of conduct.

Maybe that's why he didn't have the best grades in science.

However, the project brought another issue with it. Where would they finish the report?

Ichigo had said something about his dad and sisters getting the wrong idea and not feeling like having to put up with that. Naruto had arched her eyebrow daringly and asked if he wanted to die.

''No, not yet,'' a thoughtful look crossed his face, ''was that a threat?''

''No, but at mine, my dad will see you as a threat. He isn't accepting it yet that I'm not five anymore. You _really_ don't want to come over when he is overprotective as fuck and doesn't even want me to have social media.''

Ichigo looked slightly shocked.

''Mine, it is.''

Naruto looked far too pleased with herself. He jabbed her lightly in the side. ''Don't look so damn pleased.'' That didn't the smirk off her face, only widening it more. ''Dumbass.''

''Is that how you treat ladies? No wonder I was the only one asking you to partner up.''

He gave her a glare. ''Exactly, you asked _me_ to partner up. Don't be such a little shit, Akiyama.''

''Feisty.''

''Why did I even accept?'' he sighed.

The walk to his home continued like that. Mid-way, Naruto had stopped the conversation, cursing.

''I forgot to tell my dad I'll come home later, fuck. Wait.'' Taking her phone to her ear, she waited. ''Yeah, hi, dad. I'm finishing a project with a friend,'' a pause, ''yeah it's a girl,'' a sigh, ''I'll be careful, yeah, bye. Dad, love you.''

'' _Dad_ dy, _love you,''_ he mimicked, in a high-pitch voice that didn't resemble her's at all.

At least, she hoped so.

Now it was her turn to jab him in the side. ''Don't be such a little shit, Kurosaki.'' He just smirked.

Suddenly, the male reached for his back pocket, grabbing keys out of it. ''There is my house.''

''The hospital?'' she asked with a thoughtful frown.

He noticed it. ''Yeah, what's with it?''

She raised her arms. ''Chill! Your dad works with mine, if it's his. My dad is some hot shit in the big hospital in the city.''

Ichigo had put the key in the hole and paused. ''Don't tell my dad that, he hates that hospital. They never listen to him. We can handle the patients with the smaller injuries, but we don't perform the bigger things. So patients would need to be transferred to that hospital, but they're always such shits about it.''

He then unlocked the door and opened it. ''Yeah, I hate the hospital too,'' she murmurs, thinking about the forced moving of her dad and her. She wasn't sure if Kurosaki heard it, if he did, he chose not to reply.

''I'm home!''

''Welcome home, Ichi-nii! You're home early.''

He shrugged. ''Yeah, I have this project I need to finish with her,'' was said as he cocked his head to his female companion. Said companion waved awkwardly.

''It's nice to meet you. I'm Akiyama Naruto.''

Ichigo stepped in before his sisters could reply. ''That's Uzu,'' he said as he cocked his head to a sweet looking girl with short, brown hair, ''and that's Karin,'' his head was now turned to the black-haired one, with much more sharp features, who had a gigantic grin on her face that didn't spell anything good.

''Nice to meet you too,'' they both replied, tones vastly different. Ichigo frowned, seeing his sister's enormous smirk, but choose to ignore it. ''Do you want something to drink, Naruto?''

''Aaaah, you are on first name basis? How _adorable,_ '' Karin butt in. Naruto realised what Ichigo had meant with his family being a bother.

Ichigo muttered something along the lines of, ''I knew this would happen,'' and immediately took her upstairs without any drink, before anything could continue, but the laughter following them told him he would hear more about this at dinner.

''Let's just begin with this.''

What she had thought would be a rather peaceful couple hours of work, was everything but. Of course, with their personalities, it couldn't go perfectly. Ichigo was rather easy to work with, though. But they had the tendency to insult each other and get completely off-topic, which delayed their work over and over again.

And now the father had suddenly barged through the door just when they were getting back into it, something _had_ to interfere her, it seemed.

''Ichigo! What did I hear about you taking girls to your room? Why haven't you consulted me about this?'' he yelled, far too enthusiastic about his son making a report with a girl, ''I could've gotten some cond-!'' He was interrupted by a foot in the face before he could continue.

''Get. Out.''

Ichigo shoved his father out of the door before he could comply and locked the door.

''It's definitely going to be yours from now on.''

She glanced at the door, hearing the knocks that didn't seem to end. ''Seems to be a great idea.''

They didn't get to finish the report that day.

However, they had a good time.

* * *

Today was weird.

Sitting on her bed in an oversized sweater, freshly-showered, Naruto was going over her day.

Yes, today was definitely weird.

She had already exchanged numbers with quite some girls- and was immediately added into a big group chat that never seemed to stop with talking, Jesus- but she hadn't expected to exchange numbers with Ichigo.

'' _For the project,'' he explained when he saw her giving him an incredulous look. ''Sure,'' she had snorted._

They even were already on first name basis! In Konoha that was nothing special with peers, but here, in Japan, that seemed to be a really big deal. It was something she finally picked up in the years she had lived here.

But there was something.. off about Ichigo. He was different than her other friends.

Could she call him a friend already?

She shot one look to her phone, the bright screen showing her her contacts. In big, bold, letters was, ''ICHIGO'' written above a number.

She didn't know if she could call him that, already. But something inside of her pulled her to him. Something in the back of her mind told her exactly what it was, but she didn't want to face it.

_Give up. He feels like home, like Konoha._

And that wasn't possible. If he felt like home, like Konoha, it would've hurt. So, so much. She would be crying right now, having to face so much from her past so much in one day.

_But, he doesn't hurt. He feels like home but doesn't hurt._

He.. does.

Naruto bit her lip and took her phone, looking at the contact. She clicked on it, and a conversation was opened.

**Good luck with your family.**

Not thinking before clicking, she immediately threw away her phone, like some shy school girl with a crush.

Did she have a crush on him?

No, definitely not. She couldn't, not this fast. That's impossible.

But honestly, she would rather have a crush on him than actually agree to what the voice was telling her.

_He feels like the old you, doesn't he?_

Naruto decided she wanted to be his friend.


	4. Chapter 4

Naruto terrified him.

The suddenly aghast look on her normally tan, but then pale, face always hurt him to the core. He would need to take a shuddering breath to compose himself, even if he was used to seeing people completely frightened- he was a doctor, after all, Naruto always caught him off-guard. He didn't know why.

Maybe it was because she was his daughter and he cared so much about her. She had him twirled around her little finger.

Maybe it was because he didn't want her to be hurt.

Maybe it was because such a look didn't fit someone so young, so youthful, so full of life. Because, at those times, when she looked so damn scared, it rendered him speechless.

Not only because it was so full of hurt, it was also so dead. He would tentatively talk to her and she would quickly snap out of it- but the image has imprinted itself in his mind forever. He sighs and reclines in his seat. Naruto didn't just terrify him because of the pure horror that could etch her face, something only and old soul should be able to.

There is actually where his second reason began, Naruto felt _old._ She is barely fifteen, but she had a presence of someone ancient, someone who had gone through such a long and horrifying life that it randomly could place _the_ expressions on her face. Sometimes, she felt older than him, which is impossible.

Naruto was truly an enigma.

Coupled with her unnatural strength and _grace,_ he sometimes wondered if she was a fifty-year-old in a teenager's body. The strength could be explained by having taken classes for years, but there was the problem- everything was self-taught. The grace was something she had had since he knew her. Even with the most excited and out-of-control actions, she was still in control, still graceful.

Like an experienced fighter.

Everything made him more and more convinced she was so much older than she looked- but that would mean she aged too slow, which isn't true. He has seen her age normally like all other children of her age. She even aged a bit faster, going through puberty before her other peers.

Something just didn't add up.

For once, he didn't know what to think of a situation. He was always so calm, and never lost his cool- _just like Naruto-_ but this made him want to pull his hair in frustration and scream because _he just didn't understand._

His fingers tapped impatiently on the wooden desk as if that would help the situation in any way. Another exhausted sigh escapes his lips.

He so desperately wanted to know more about his daughter, but it was hard. She had so many layers, and whenever he peeled off one, he would discover that there would be twenty more, that seemed to be multiplying every second. There was just so much to the blonde.

However, he wants to know every bit of it.

Otherwise, he would be a bad father, wouldn't he be?

* * *

**To: Ichigo From: Naruto**

**Let's finish the report today, I made guacamole too.**

**To: Naruto From: Ichigo**

**Sure. See you at three. What's your address?**

A couple messages and an hour later, they were already sitting at the dining table, with a bowl of tortilla chips, with some self-made guacamole next to it. Ichigo's trailing eyes betrayed him, showing his immense interest in the green dip.

''I haven't even tried it, and this is my first time making it. I followed the instructions perfectly, though.''

He snorts. ''There goes my interest. I'm sure you fucked up.'' She threw him an annoyed look. ''Yeah, tell me that again when you eat all that I've made, _again._ You love my cooking,'' her eyes narrowed, ''don't try me.''

Ichigo whistled. ''Chill.''

The blonde glared at him, but it softened rather quickly. It wasn't as if she was actually mad at him, anyway. ''You want to try it, or not? I made this because of the conversation we had-''

''-about how it always looks so cool on Western television!'' they ended together.

A smile lit up on her lips and his face mirrored her expression. Wordlessly, they both went for a chip, dipped it in the green good, and put it in their mouths.

And chewed.

They gulped.

''Well,'' Naruto began after silence took over, ''that was honestly pretty disappointing.''

He arched a brow and gave her an unimpressed look. ''You actually _did_ fuck up.''

''Fuck you, Ichigo.''

He reclined in his seat. ''You did! Well, honestly, knowing your skills, guacamole probably is indeed just pretty bad,'' he said. ''The hype was for nothing, it seemed,'' left him as a murmur. A disappointed frown was etched on his face, and Naruto wordlessly agreed.

''I'll just let my dad eat it. He loves avocado, so, so much,'' a sigh escapes her lips, ''I bet he'll just grab a spoon and just eat the whole bowl, even if it's a dip.''

''Can we eat the chips, though?'' Ichigo asked hopefully.

Naruto gave him a disbelieving look. ''Yes? Sure, whatever,'' she shook her head, ''I swear, I really don't get how people think of you, of all people, as intimidating. You are just a dumbass.''

''I perfectly crafted my reputation, thank you very much.''

She sent him a patronising look, telling him enough of her thought process about his _reputation._ ''I mean,'' she began, ''you do look kinda intimidating. Your glare is a bit above average, making them piss in their pants. I get that. And you constantly fight,'' she crosses her arms, ''what are you, a thug?''

''You can't tell me a thing about behaviour, Miss ''I'll just threaten them so I don't have to dirty my hands'','' he spat, ''you're such a little princess.''

She flipped her hair snottily. ''I know,'' the blonde harped haughtily, ending with raising her chin high up in the air, and shoulders stiff. He gave her an incredulous look before he laughed, she tried to hold the arrogant posture, but quickly followed his example.

After laughing she explained herself, ''But for real, you can't blame me, I really don't want any problems with my dad,'' cracking her knuckles, she continued, ''I'll be hung.''

He hung his arm lazily on his chair. ''Talking about your dad, does he even know I'm here?''

''Nope,'' she chirped.

Again, he deemed it fit to just reply with a disbelieving look. His hand went up to the bridge of his nose, massaging it gently. ''I'm so done with you. Let's just work on this project.'' She complied soundlessly.

They worked rather well, this time. Their focus was completely on finishing the project. However, they did enjoy each other's company. They will be caught dead saying that, though. Everything was going rather well, and within an hour and a half, they were finished.

''I'm pretty proud of this! We did a pretty good job on it,'' Ichigo commented, his voice lighter than normal, making it known to Naruto that he was honest, and even a bit excited.

She smiled softly. ''Yeah, we worked pretty well together, too. We'll just bring it in tomorrow, so we won't have to worry about any deadlines anymore.'' He nodded in agreement, liking the idea of not stressing for once. He sighed while looking at his female companion. She seemed to have her shit together pretty well for someone who threatened people because she didn't want to dirty her hands.

''Let me just get a folder, I'll be right back!''

Just when she left, he heard the front door open.

Ichigo stiffened. Naruto had told him in one of their many online conversations that she only lived with her dad. That meant he just came back from home. The father who hated boys with his whole heart, who hated _him,_ just arrived, seeing him and his daughter alone in the house.

''I'm so done for,'' he whispered.

The man that met him was rather tall and well-built. Handsome too, and with chestnut brown hair and dark eyes.

He bowed as low as he could. ''Hello, I'm Kurosaki Ichigo, a-'' _friend_ ''-classmate of Naruto. We are working on a project for science,'' he explained hurriedly.

Too late he realised his mistake of referring to her with her first name.

The older male narrowed his eyes at him. ''Hello Kurosaki-kun, I'm Akiyama Tarou. Naruto's father. Where is _Naruto?''_ he layed it thick on the blonde's name, making the orange-head gulp.

God, he was so done for.

* * *

''Here, you guys had an A,'' the teacher suddenly stopped, ''however, because you guys had the best report, you were to be given a higher grade. So, you'll be getting an A+.''

Naruto smirked smugly at him. ''I wanted at least an A. See there's something higher?''

Ichigo rolled his eyes, but he was rather grateful. He really needed a high grade for science. ''You are such a nerd. The highest grade, really? Did you go for this at the beginning?''

The blonde nodded. ''It was on the sheet she gave us, so I thought, why not just go for it? Had I known you suck at science, I would've chosen someone else, though.''

He kicked her under the table. They now regularly sat next to each other, so that was possible. ''Piss off.''

''Is that how you treat the person who saved your grade?''

It annoyed him how painfully accurate it was. ''I almost got beat by your dad, he looked murderous, I think this makes it even, though.''

''So, getting a murderous glare and awkward talk with my boy-hating dad was worth it?''

He laughed slightly, at the ridiculousness of the whole situation. ''No. I'm never doing another project with you,'' the smile on his lips told her the exact different, though.

A couple periods later, when they were at English, another subject they sat next to each other.

''So, you guys will need to do a project about a famous figure, in English, of course...''

Naruto immediately searched for Ichigo, and he immediately searched for her. A look of understanding crossed both their faces and they nodded.

_Let's do it together._


	5. Chapter 5

Life hadn't been kind to her.

She had lived long, had become strong. She had grown in a respectable woman. Eventually, she had even become her dream. Naruto had reached what most could only dream of reaching, something she had done, too, but it had been a strenuous task. Even though the blonde has been blessed with having a loving family first consisting of friends, and then the whole village, her village had also been her demise.

It had killed her already when she was a young and innocent child, undeserving of their treatment.

Life hadn't been kind to her, indeed. But life isn't fair, anyway.

Naruto had pulled through one lifetime, and then she was placed in _another_ one.

Some people would love to continue living, to start over again, to have another chance of meeting people- being young again is so fun!

_I could actually see myself thinking that if I were a bit less melancholic and cynical._

This world was different, she discovered. It did have chakra. However, almost everyone had almost nothing, it made her wonder how they survived living. It was a rather scary idea to her that she would have almost no chakra, like them. There were even people who had a really vague signature. She could feel it, but there was something about it that made it unique. It was really weird since quite some people she saw were like that, too.

She could barely sense some signatures as if people were _dying._

The blue-eyed girl figured she was in the future, because of all the high-tech devices that were obviously the children of the products she used in her time. Sometimes she couldn't fathom how that much could've happened, it interested her immensely. Adjusting had been weird, sometimes she slipped up, but those times were sparse. Things were extremely different, she had been to school before, but this was a lot more studying and almost no practical things. That's also why she liked science so much, you could experiment yourself. You could finally do something.

However, even if the world was different, people were the same.

People still got insulted, thrown to the ground, beaten, slapped, hated, sabotaged. People still were irrational in their fears. People still hated what they didn't understand. People still followed the ground. People still threw that one kid's books in the toilet, bumped him too harshly in the hallways, sneered behind their backs.

Humans were still vile.

So, so disgustingly vile.

That was something oh-so-familiar to her, but also something she would've rather left in her former life.

_It's human nature._

Nobody is perfect, of course. Naruto most definitely had a long list of flaws she was still trying to overcome (and cover up). But, at least, she never bullied.

However, not getting that deep was hard. It was hard to not fall down, again. To just give up and become numb. To drown in a murky, familiar and always accepting darkness. It was terrifying she had thoughts and desires like that. But what do you expect of someone who is going through this?

She had finally accepted death after having fought so much. She wanted to have some damn well-deserved peace.

Naruto wanted it to end. She was so fucking ready.

It made her feel helpless. Finally, she could get some control in _her_ life, but there it went, again. Fuck.

And then he came.

He swooped her off the ground with his big arms, her having been unremoved for days, still thinking about everything. He just came in, picked her up, and took her home.

She hadn't resisted.

A warmth had enveloped her, stilling her. It had been what attracted her to him and what made her stay all those years. The warmth had worked as a light, constantly shining her where to go, what her path was, what she needed to do.

Tarou had been her savior and her first actual father figure. She never knew what parental love was, but now she knew what she had been missing for so long.

That had also given her the realization that she finally could have a normal life. She could live as a cilivan and leave her past behind her. Naruto had been given that chance. She took it, she tried. She tried so, so desperately to be normal and fit in. To be a regular, pretty, blonde girl with high grades.

However, immediately she was different. Her classic western looks, the marks on her face, the fact she had an adoptive father, clearly still set her apart of the regular Japanese teenager.

That wasn't everything.

Whenever she would walk past the local gym, her fists would clench without her wanting to. An empty feeling of longing would fill her, making her heart ache horribly. She knew exactly what she wanted.

A week later, she did a trial lesson. The gym was honestly pretty bad.

But, god, that euphoric feeling she finally felt when she could fight was something she would never forget.

Naruto quickly had asked her father for sports equipment for at home, convincing him that it should be an early birthday present and that he could use it too. He had agreed, thinking it was good for her health anyway and that he couldn't think of that one perfect birthday present that could blow her away. He was thankful she had come with that bigass grin to him, asking for once for something.

This was definitely one of the things she didn't want to leave behind.

And finally came a feeling of acceptance about her situation, while she was hugging her father, after having trained in her self-made gym.

Her dad grumbled something about her smelling but smiled nonetheless.

* * *

''You've changed.''

The addressed person stopped mid-chew and lifted a brow. ''Excuse me?'' The blonde was only met with a scrutinizing look, carefully scanning and assessing her. ''Don't talk with food in your mouth,'' Tarou replied.

She gave him a disbelieving look but then shook her head. ''Just explain why I've _apparently,''_ she bit out, ''changed.''

He reclined in his seat and crossed his arms. The scrutinizing look was back.

''It isn't per say a _bad_ change.'' A silence then fell and the teenager frowned. Is he still not going to explain his claim? A sigh left her, ''Just tell me how I've changed.''

He leaned forward and then spoke, ''You show your emotions more,'' he began.

And then stopped, _again._

Her jaw clenched. ''Care to elaborate, dad?''

The surrogate father hummed and then finally continued. ''You smile more, you are more open,'' he put his elbow on the table and propped his head on the palm of his hand, ''you are more playful and affectionate. Not per say with me, but a lot more with your friends, too.''

''Was this intervention really necessary if this is pretty positive?'' she replied harshly while her shoulders were tense.

The tone of her reply was as unnecessary as this so-called intervention, but he had touched a weak spot of her. Naruto had realized that, indeed, she had changed a bit. Even if it was for the best, it made her uncomfortable. Even more that she didn't know the source of it.

''It seems you realized too, judging by your reaction and that you're a smart kid.''

''Stop treating me like one of your patients.''

He leaned forward to put a strand of her behind her hair. A glare was sent his way, but he was unrelenting. ''I'm not, Naruto. You're overreacting.''

The teen moved her head back as if disgusted with his touch. ''Is it maybe because you realized the cause?''

The blonde gritted her teeth in annoyance and didn't reply. Anger had boiled up, and by now she would have already told her dad off. He was grinding her gears with him treating her like one of her patients. That was one of the things she hated, being analyzed and assessed. Tarou wasn't the most affectionate one, but a cold look didn't suit him. Even more with her father, since he knew her amazingly well, even if he didn't realize that, and was almost always spot on.

Taking a deep breath with her eyes closed, she opened them again when she spoke softly, ''That's the problem.''

Again, her father was silent, now waiting for her to explain. ''I have realized yes, but I don't know the source, actually.''

''It's funny how you can be so dumb sometimes.''

With the rather teasing quip, with a hint of truthfulness behind it, the tension was dissolved. Just like Naruto's hold on her calm.

''I swear to fucking god-!''

'' _Language.''_

* * *

''So, Florence Nightingale? Isn't that also an extremely bad movie?''

Naruto cringed, remembering the movie. ''It was a movie about her, yes. Florence is pretty cool, though, so the movie really didn't do her justice.''

A weird, unimpressed, sound left him and he took a seat on her office chair, going for the computer. ''Okay, I'll do some research on her, you grab your cookies,'' he ordered off-handedly.

Naruto crossed her arms and gave him a defiant look. ''First of all, I've already done all the research- it's the document ''Florence Nightingale information''-'' she deadpanned, ''and how did you know I made cookies?''

''You always have some chocolate chip cookies ready. It legit looks like you make a batch every damn day. You fucking fatass.''

''You're asking for them, damn hypocrite.''

In retaliation, he trailed his hands up and down his chest and stomach. ''I don't have to worry with this amazingly slim figure.''

The blonde sent him an unimpressed look. ''I swear, one day I'll murder you,'' she murmured while she turned and left.

Behind her. she heard him say, ''How can you hurt this beauty?''

She groaned. He laughed.

Mentally thinking about her poor decisions in life, which included asking Ichigo to partner up with her in this English assignment, she went down to indeed grab the cookies. However, this time it was white chocolate instead of milk chocolate!

And damnit, she didn't make them _every day._ The blonde just made a lot at once for her dad. He loved chocolate chip cookies, and she was pretty sure he didn't mind that she bakes so much at once.

Like, a lot. It was honestly rather sad she still couldn't estimate what was enough for two people to last a day or two, no, instead she made a batch for a whole week for around 7 people.

Or two people and someone like Ichigo, the true fatass.

Like he said, he indeed was rather slim, even though he ate like a pig.

A sigh left her, just when her father passed her on the stairs.

Only downstairs, while she was pouring some milk in a glass, she realized her mistake, when she heard a door close rather loudly. That was the way her father closed doors, basically slamming them loudly without even being mad. It still always made her nervous, though.

The teenager rushed upstairs with a tray in her hands and opened the door awkwardly with her elbow.

Only to be met with Ichigo calmly assessing the document she had written about Florence Nightingale. He didn't even look up to meet her eyes.

''You haven't died?'' she asked, closing the door with her foot. She took a seat next to him and put the tray on the writing desk.

He spared her a wondering glance and then realization struck him. ''Oh, yeah, your dad came in,'' he told her, not helping her and focusing back again on the screen.

''My question remains.''

He turned to her, making the chair spin with him. ''He actually said he approved of me now, something about him appreciating the influence I had on you or something.''

''I swear more because of you, that's bull.''

Ichigo shrugged. ''I'm just saying what he told me. But he approves of me now, so you think we can finally have that sleepover Yuzu has been whining about?''

The blue-eyed girl still was a bit shocked. ''You are getting bold here.''

He snorted and there's where the conversation ended. She took out her phone and shot a quick message to her father, asking if she could sleep over at Ichigo's tomorrow.

**FROM: Dad TO: Naruto**

**Sure, are you eating there, too?**

''You weren't lying.''

He looked at her from the corner from his eyes and couldn't help but laugh.

''Dumbass. How late are you coming tomorrow?''

**Author's Note:**

> Please tell me your thoughts!


End file.
